July 17, 2007

Fundraise Naturally

At least once a year, kids stop by my house to sell me junk food to raise money for their class. I hem and haw--and then lie and tell them I'm on a diet.

Well, last year a courageous group of 4th and 5th graders in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, boycotted a class fundraiser by refusing to sell the candy bars and potato chips they'd learned about in health class. Miles away in Westport, Connecticut, resident and owner of Natural Neighborhood, Rosie Haas, got an idea while reading an article about the students. "Customers of Natural Neighborhood were asking me if they could sell our natural and organic products to raise money for their kids' classrooms, I put two and two together and Fundraise Naturally was born," Haas recalls.

As of June 2006, schools in the U.S. have been required to form wellness committees to create and enforce nutrition in school-based cafeterias and other activities--such as the elimination of unhealthy products from fundraising programs. Haas says, "On the whole, schools are beginning to rethink the way they use their resources in the school environment and the impact on the greater community and that means seeking alternatives to fundraising as usual."

Fundraise Naturally only uses products that are eco-friendly, and are ethically made by caring manufacturers with the hope that as students experience entrepreneurship in an ethically-sound way, they will feel connected to their community and the planet, and get a real-life lesson in how small contributions can make a big difference.

Comments

I remember when i was in grade school everyday my mum give me a cents for my school allowance, my mother said dont buy any junk foods, but on that time im so hard headed every recess time i used all my allowance buying the junk food. In your post i can relate and remember those days when i was in grade school.

Awesome idea. When I was in grade school a VERY long time ago, I set up shop with a red wagon full of wholesale candy bars outside of the lunch room door. It was really easy to sell, but then the kids didn't have any lunch money left so the powers that be made me move my fledgling enterprise to the back of the lunch room at the exit. It's nice to know that kids now are more aware of what is good for them and I applaude their campaign to offer health alternatives.